Ishmael Adams and UCLA run away from Arizona State in 62-27 rout (Video)
It didn’t take long for UCLA to pull away from Arizona State Thursday night. It took just 2:30 of game time for the Bruins to turn a 17-13 deficit into a 34-17 lead – a lead that only increased as the night went on.
In the end, No. 11 UCLA put up 580 yards of total offense and gained 10 yards per play in a 62-27 rout of No. 15 Arizona State on the road. Though the Sun Devils jumped out to an early 17-6 lead, the Bruins exploded and scored 21 points in both the second and third quarter en route to a dominant victory in a Pac-12 South division game.
Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley, whose status was unknown throughout the week, showed no signs of his hyperextended left elbow as he threw for 355 yards and four touchdowns while putting up an additional 72 yards and a score on the ground.
Ishmael Adams, UCLA’s explosive junior corner, scored two touchdowns, including a momentum changing pick six in the final 20 seconds of the first half. Down 20-17, Arizona State, with Mike Bercovici starting at quarterback for the injured Taylor Kelly, was looking to take a lead or tie the score going into halftime.
Instead, on a 3rd-and-12 from the UCLA 17-yard line, Bercovici forced a pass toward the end zone which Adams stepped in front of and returned 95 yards for a score.
Instead of the Sun Devils potentially tying the score with a short field goal attempt, they went into the half down 27-17.
Things got worse from there.
On UCLA’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, Hundley hit Jordan Payton for an 80-yard catch and run to increase the lead to 34-17.
The Sun Devils responded with a field goal before Adams got his hands on the ball again. The 5-foot-8, 185-pound speedster caught the ensuing kickoff at the goal line, saw a crease, made a crowd of Sun Devils miss and got a huge block to get loose for a 100-yard touchdown return.
Adams’ second score of the game put UCLA up 41-20 midway through the third, and the Bruins just piled on from there en route to their most impressive victory of the season. Though it gave up 622 yards, the Bruins' defense forced four turnovers and was able to stiffen when it had to – stopping the Sun Devils on a handful of fourth down attempts.
Though he threw two costly interceptions, Bercovici, a redshirt junior, threw for a whopping 488 yards and three touchdowns on 42-of-68 throwing in his first career start. He showed solid pocket presence and made it clear that his reputation for a strong arm was no joke. The prognosis for Kelly’s foot is not immediately known, so Bercovici may be thrown into the fire again next Saturday on the road at USC.
For UCLA, it showed why it was ranked so highly when the season began. The Bruins have so much speed on both sides of the ball and a performance like this will undoubtedly give the team confidence moving forward with the Pac-12 slate.
Now 4-0, the Bruins will return home next Saturday to play an upstart Utah team – a team that could be 4-0 at weekend’s end. UCLA will look to take care of business against the Utes with a home date with second-ranked Oregon coming the following weekend.
For more UCLA news, visit BruinSportsReport.com.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
